Children crowded around tables filled with all kinds of earthy minerals, including those of the of three main families: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic.

Their eyes wide in enchantment, the Jefferson County Library event was one to cap off a string of Fridays of learning.

Members from the Clallam County Mineral and Gem Association were on hand at the library to impart any and all bits of knowledge to their audiences. One of the members of the organization, Kathy Bachman, said kids get fascinated with rocks, asking questions when they are older.

“They’re constantly into rocks,” Bachman said. “They just go crazy.”

She was accompanied by fellow members Mark Weiss and Scott Thornhill, who presented all sorts of rocks that can be found in Oregon and Washington.

Bachman has been collecting since she was 5-years-old, citing it was easy to pick up and cheaper than literal dirt.

“There’s such a variety of them,” she said. “Anything that keeps their interests alive in science is what counts.”

Students, who had had an inkling for learning when school was not in session, came out to several afternoon’s worth of coordinated activities for the STEAM Fridays for Kids events. Libraries Rock was the theme for the summer, both for the children, teens and even adults from June through July.

“The goal is to keep kids reading all summer long so they don’t have the summer slide,” said Martha Ashenfelter, of Jefferson County Library Youth Services.

Using the word “rocks” had a dual meaning: the musical genre and geology. Throughout the summer, children met Wednesdays and Fridays while teens met on Fridays for a wide variety of activities to keep their brains churning. These get-togethers ranged from painting rocks to learning about musical influences from listening to The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album. They also crafted pendants using wire and had a couple session on percussion instruments.

Adults were not excluded either. They had a few events planned, such as a lecture about geology and earthquakes on the Olympic Peninsula, enjoyed readings from author Gloria Reinerston Koll from her book “Skipping Stones,” and the capped off the summer with a trivia night at Finnriver Cidery. Classes were also open on Tuesdays to learn about podcasting, smartphone apps for relaxation, online meeting software and general assistance for anything technology related.